Friday, November 22, 2002

Page 1

F R I D A Y NOVEMBER 22, 2002

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 120

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

U. looks for new director to helm Career Services

Faculty pass 3 more motions in governance reform push

BY DANIELLE WAINER

BY JONATHAN SKOLNICK

With the University aiming to complete its national search for a new Career Services director by 2003, outgoing director Sheila Curran said this week the University may not be sufficiently invested in its program during a crucial time of economic downturn. “These are difficult times for all career offices because the economy is so lousy,” she said. “This is the time that career offices have to help students, yet this is also the time when they tend to have their budgets cut.” With the focus on President Ruth Simmons’ new academic initiatives and the dismal economy, the University took on several ambitious projects that made it harder to find room in the budget or schedule to continue to improve Career Services, Curran told The Herald this summer. Curran, who announced her move to Duke University last year after six years as director of Career Services and 20 years at Brown, said Career Services was left out of the planning that went into Simmons’ enrichment initiatives — leaving her office to wonder if the University was committed to improvement. Curran said she “got the impression that at Brown, in areas that are not part of the academic initiative, it will be status quo for many years to come.” Her desire to be able to change and improve the program she heads was part of her decision to move to Duke, she said. “At Duke, they’re giving me the opportunity to make some changes and to have an influence on moving forward to the future,” Curran said. “It was really a wonderful opportunity to do something new and work on different things that have to be done in career offices.” Despite the strain of difficult economic times and questions over how to improve Career Services, Curran and Interim Director Barbara Peoples agreed that Career Services will continue to run smoothly during the transition period. “I anticipate that things will go along very smoothly. What students need to know is that we have a very strong team here,” Peoples said. Career Services is “going forward and making plans. “We are not hearing that there are any areas right now where students feel that their goals are not being met.” The search for a new director is now in the hands of a committee that includes students, faculty and administration. The committee reports to Dean of the College Paul Armstrong, who will make a final decision. “We have representation from many different places on campus serving on the search committee,” said Karen Sibley, associate dean for summer studies and chair of the search committee in charge of interviewing and selecting potential candidates. The University announced it was seeking a

The faculty took several steps to overhaul governance at Brown at its meeting Tuesday, passing three measures that give the faculty more say in several key areas of the University. The first measure changed the name and charge of the Advisory Committee on University Planning to the University Resources Committee. The major change is that from now on, meetings will be closed to the public. “The hope is that by closing it, we can have much franker discussions with the senior vice presidents, and that maybe the outcome will be different,” said John Savage, past chair of the Faculty Executive Committee. In the past, information administrators might have discussed with faculty was withheld due to the open nature of the meetings, inhibiting the faculty’s ability to effect change, Savage said. With the new system, he said, “we’re developing a partnership with the administration.” Provost Robert Zimmer told The Herald early this semester that the public’s voice would not be lost by the private meetings and discussions. To maintain the Brown community’s participation, all topics of discussion and the results of the debates will be revealed. Members of the community will be able to voice their opinions at public forums, as well. “All that’s being closed is the conversation,” he said, “so that it can, in its way, be an open conversation.” The faculty also passed a measure that would revise and rename the Committee on Faculty, Reappointment and Tenure to the Tenure, Promotions and Appointments Committee. A faculty member, not a dean, will now head the committee, whose membership will increase from eight to 12. Also, TPA will now be responsible for approval of individual departmental criteria for contract renewal, promotion and tenure. “The point is to ensure that uniformly high standards are applied in matters of promotion and tenure,” Savage said. An amendment was later approved that would allow a limited number of associate professors to serve on the committee. These professors would have to recuse themselves in cases involving faculty at their rank or higher so as to avoid any conflicts of interest. The third motion passed created the University Curriculum Committee, which will focus on academic matters related to the University as a whole. There was previously no committee that dealt with both issues of graduate and undergraduate education, Savage said. The College Curriculum Council and the Graduate Council will still tackle issues exclusive to undergraduate and graduate academics, respectively. “We’re hoping that the new UCC will

Jason White / Herald

Catholic Chaplain Henry Bodah led students in prayer Thursday night at a vigil outside the Sciences Library organized for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

Holding vigil for hunger BY EMIR SENTURK

About 25 Students gathered outside the Sciences Library Thursday night for an hour-long vigil for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Standing in a circle that increased in diameter with the passage of time, students of different backgrounds shared prayers, parables, readings and chants. With candles burning in the face of rain and cold air, the words of the Old and New Testaments, medieval saints and Sanskrit

writings reverberated within the group. Though the vigil took on a largely religious nature that spoke of the importance of faith, personal duty and sacrifice in an effort to help those suffering through hunger and homelessness, personal ideas and momentary ruminations broke the silence several times. “We’re here tonight because we feel empathy toward our fellow man struggling see VIGIL, page 4

Union demonstrators in Seekonk join national day of action against Wal-Mart BY ADAM STELLA Seekonk, Mass. — One hundred and fifty

pro-union demonstrators, acting in solidarity with demonstrators in 43 other states, rallied at a Wal-Mart along Route 6 Thursday afternoon in support of WalMart workers. The demonstration was part as part of a nationwide “Day of Action” orchestrated by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The day included more than 100 demonstrations across the country, involving over 10,000 workers, said Jim Riley, secretary treasurer of UFCW. Ian DeZalia, spokesperson for WalMart, said the stores were aware of the planned “Day of Action,” but were conducting “business as usual.” Ten Brown students attended the

demonstration, which was publicized on campus by the Brown Student Labor Alliance. Riley gave an impassioned speech in a parking lot near Wal-Mart at the start of the rally. “The largest corporation has waged war on its own workers, and when the largest corporation in America wages war on its own workers it wages war on all workers,” Riley told a crowd of enthusiastic supporters. Wal-Mart should learn from General Motors, which, as the largest U.S. corporation in the 1930s, allowed automobile workers to unionize, Riley said. Wal-Mart pays its employees $2 to $3 less per hour than unionized employees see SEEKONK, page 4

see CAREERS, page 9

see FACULTY, page 8

I N S I D E F R I D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 0 2 Fusion, breakdancers headline a blockbuster dance show at Ashamu through Sunday page 3

NPR documentarians discuss the art of radio storytelling with students page 3

Cuban playwright Gloria Maite Hernandez reads from her work page 3

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Jaideep Singh ’03 says President Bush should act to help poor countries out of poverty column, page 11

Post- goes wild with Apple sweetheart Ellen Feiss. Read her first-ever interview. magazine, inside

rain high 52 low 41


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.